The subject invention is directed toward the art of fluid couplings and, more particularly, to a coupling of the face sealing type which incorporates an improved arrangement for supporting a sealing gasket between the opposed sealing faces.
In the prior commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,552,389, 4,650,227, and 4,838,583, there are disclosed fluid couplings which include retainer arrangements for positioning and locating a gasket between the opposed seal faces of a fluid system device or coupling component. In the retainer arrangements of these prior patents, the coupling components must be disconnected and axially separated before the gasket and the associated retainer can be removed and replaced. Thus, generally, in order to allow replacement of gaskets, the pipe or tubing system had to be designed to permit axial separation of the coupling components such as through the use of additional fittings and removable sections.